Republic staff photo
Update: 12:30 p.m. Thursday
HOPE — An investigation into two threats at Hauser Jr. -Sr. High School resulting in the removal of two male juvenile students from school is continuing as police increased their presence at all Bartholomew County Schools on Thursday as a safety precaution.
The atmosphere at the county’s high schools remained on edge as school officials and law enforcement continued investigations into five separate threats, two made involving Columbus East High School on Tuesday and Wednesday, two at Hauser on the same days and one at the Simon Youth Academy on Wednesday. The academy is located at Edinburgh Premium Outlets north of Columbus.
Hauser officials contacted Hope police on Tuesday that one of their students reported a 15-year-old male student threatened to kill him, police said.
Hope Police Chief Matt Tallent said police spoke with the 15-year-old and his parents on Tuesday and the boy was expelled from school Tuesday night. He was released to the custody of his parents, but Tallent said he plans to seek a Level 6 felony intimidation charge against the juvenile as a result of the threat.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Tallent was again contacted by Hauser officials and parents that a verbal threat against the school had been made last week, overheard by two students who did not initially report it, the police chief said. Through word of mouth, information about the threat became known, Tallent said.
Tallent could not confirm that the threat contained the words “shooting up the school,” saying it was a vague threat allegedly made by a 16-year-old male Hauser student.
After talking with Hauser officials, the 16-year-old and his mother agreed to go to the Hope Police Department for an interview Wednesday and the juvenile’s mother consented to a search of their home, Tallent said.
During the search, Hope police confiscated a handgun and a small-caliber hunting rifle, which were placed in an evidence locker at the police station. The 16-year-old remains in the custody of his mother pending the outcome of the school investigation, Tallent said.
Read more in Friday’s print edition of The Republic.
Original story
Columbus East High School students and staff dealt with a second day of unease after police arrested a former student on an intimidation charge for making threats over social media.
Wednesday’s arrest of a second male juvenile on a felony intimidation charge marked two straight days of threats against the high school of about 1,500 students on the city’s east side.
Meanwhile, additional reports of threats by students were investigated at Hauser High School in Hope and at the Edinburgh Educational Resource Center, police said late Wednesday afternoon.
Hope Town Marshal Matt Tallent said his department is investigating two separate incidents involving Hauser students.
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The first, reported to police Tuesday, involved one boy from Hauser threatening to kill another, Tallent said. The second threat, reported Wednesday, alleged that a different Hauser High School boy planned to shoot up the school today, Tallent said.
Hope police were on the verge Wednesday evening of meeting with the boy accused of making the broader threat, and his mother, Tallent said.
Police planned to ask the mother whether she would consent to a search of their home for weapons or any other items that could be used against students, the Hope marshal said.
Tallent said he could not release the names of the Hauser boys being investigated. Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp. reported both incidents to Hope police, he said.
In Edinburgh, Police Chief David Mann said Wednesday that his department had received a report from school administrators that a 16-year-old student at the Edinburgh Educational Resource Center had drawn a sketch resembling a classroom. Contained within the drawing were sketches of a semi-automatic pistol and of bodies identified by student and teacher names on the sheet showing what appeared to be gunshot wounds, Mann said.
The student showed the drawing to other students, who reported to the staff their concerns, worries and fear for their safety, Mann said.
The student left the school prior to arrival by Edinburgh police, but the boy was taken into custody by Edinburgh officers outside of his home and transported to the Bartholomew County Detention Center on the charge of intimidation, a Level 6 felony.
No weapon was found on the Edinburgh school grounds, located at 11622 NE Executive Drive near Edinburgh Premium Outlets, but the student was in possession of marijuana when taken into custody, Mann said.
The resource center, according to a school website, is a non-traditional educational opportunity for at-risk students from Edinburgh Community, Ninevah-Hensley-Jackson and the Southwestern School Corp. in Shelby County.
COLUMBUS EAST
Although educators said they believe some people will say the two incidents at Columbus East High School are examples of why local schools are unsafe, it’s exactly the opposite because of the way the Columbus East students reacted, Jim Roberts, superintendent of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp., said Wednesday.
“It’s an example of why our schools are safe,” Roberts said. “They went to staff members, and our staff knew how to handle it.”
East students evacuated the school at 8 a.m. Wednesday after a fire alarm box was accidentally damaged. It was hit by students moving materials in a hallway in preparation for basketball sectionals, the Columbus Fire Department reported.
While East students were outside, they began taking pictures and videos of the evacuation on their phones, sharing the images on social media, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
A former Columbus East male student sent a response via social media back to a student, making a threat of violence, Harris said. The message included a photo of the juvenile holding a firearm, which was neither an assault rifle nor an automatic weapon, he said.
School officials could not release specifics about the former East student other than to say he had not been expelled from East and there had been no recent disciplinary actions prior to when he left school, said Larry Perkinson, BCSC employee and student assistance coordinator.
Columbus police are continuing to investigate whether the former student has guns in his home, and whether the photo sent through social media to an East student was taken just before it was sent, or was a photo taken in the past.
The photo was shared Wednesday morning with law enforcement, and police identified the individual as officials prepared to lock down the high school, Harris said. The school started the process by getting all students inside and calling 911, but did not implement the lockdown as police quickly located the suspect after checking several locations in Columbus, Harris said.
Police are not releasing where the individual was at the time of Wednesday morning’s arrest, but did say it was not at his home, Harris said. No weapon was recovered.
The juvenile did not resist when taken into custody during the arrest and transferred to the Bartholomew County Youth Services Center on a preliminary charge of intimidation, a Level 6 felony, Harris said. The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department assisted in the search and arrest of the juvenile, he said.
On Tuesday, Columbus police arrested a different juvenile male at East High School after authorities learned from students about a social media threat against the school on Snapchat, suggesting that the school would be shot up in two days.
Within five minutes, Columbus East dean Michael McBride and Columbus police officer Julie Quesenbery, assigned to the high school, went to the student’s classroom and removed the boy, isolating him in a private area away from students.
That juvenile was scheduled to appear in juvenile court Wednesday afternoon at the Bartholomew County Courthouse for a detention hearing.
The two arrests in Columbus are among a number of incidents in Indiana around the nation that have occurred since last week’s school shooting at Parkland, Florida. On Feb. 14, a 19-year-old former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is accused of killing 17 students and staff members with an AR-15 assault rifle. A fire alarm was pulled at the school by the gunman during that incident.
Harris said East students and staff have been concerned over the threats.
“People are on edge with what happened at Parkland and what happened yesterday at East,” Harris said Wednesday.
Perkinson said some students refused to leave the building despite the fire alarm, which occurred 15 minutes into the school day. School officials said they are considering adding an announcement with the alarm telling students whether there is an actual fire in the building.
Columbus police will continue to pursue any copycat incidents to the Florida shooting rampage, Harris said.
“We are not going to allow this to continue,” he said.
Roberts said the school corporation will be as aggressive as it can be in evaluating the evidence the school corporation has about each of the individuals accused of the threats, and responding to it.
“And we hope law enforcement will do the same,” he said.
School disciplinary action could be considered for the student arrested Tuesday after the due process of the judicial system concludes, as school officials work with the student and parent to determine whether returning to BCSC is possible, Perkinson said.
The East student could face a suspension — in school or out of school — or expulsion from the high school, Perkinson said. The second boy arrested is not a BCSC student and therefore is outside the school corporation’s disciplinary reach.
The penalty for intimidation, a Level 6 felony in Indiana, which both boys face, is punishable by six months to two-and-a-half years in prison and a $10,000 fine, according to Indiana state law.
DEALING WITH THREATS
BCSC students have a number of options to report threats to school officials, from a school hotline that is checked throughout the day to talking with each high school’s school resource officer, a Columbus police officer assigned to offer security and support. School deans, counselors and teachers are all trained on what to do if a student reports a possible threat, Perkinson said.
Students have been told if they become aware of a threat situation, they need to go to a trusted adult closest to the situation who can address it in the quickest manner, Roberts said. School officials are continuing to work to develop strong and trust-filled relationships with students to allow that to occur, he said.
The school corporation has received a grant for its Counseling Counts program, which is focused on student mental health and to help school officials identify students who have specific needs.
Safety and security drills are conducted at least once a year at every BCSC school building, and some schools do the drills once a semester, Perkinson said. A crisis plan is in place for each school, he said.
Roberts estimated BCSC has spent about $25 million in recent years on safety systems, structures and equipment. Some local parents, however, are calling for metal detectors and bullet-proof glass covering school exteriors.
“The expense may be beyond what we can afford, and some will ask, ‘Is this the way we really want to be about school?’ “ he said.
Overall, school security and safety is about creating a safe environment while maintaining a welcoming presence, he said.
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Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. maintains a crisis hotline where students, staff and the community may report concerns. The hotline number is 812-379-7710.
School officials said parents who have a concern about safety at the school should contact their school building principal to discuss the situation.
Columbus high school students are encouraged to speak with a counselor, dean, principal or teacher at their school about concerns they have or to report possible threats.
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